Revenue projections are released

Treasurer Mr. Seymour provided an overview of the revenue changes due to the Governor’s new plan. The old “Evidence Based Model” and the guaranteed level of funding we were provided under that model is no longer in effect.

We have been given a new funding amount that we believe will be stable for the next two years, plus estimates for what we will receive after this biennium budget. While our state funding has gone up versus what was projected, we have lost Federal stabilization funds (which we had already expected and built into our budget) and Tangible Personal Property funds, which we were not supposed to lose for several more years.

The net current loss is about $2.65 million. However, because the district had been planning for cuts and in February reduced just over $2 million, our budget right now is stable. In addition, we are making changes to transportation to increase route efficiency without affecting service, which will reduce another $350,000 beginning next year.

The good news is all of these reductions are efficiencies and should affect the level of education we are providing only slightly, if at all. Due to proper management and finding new ways to approach how we deliver education, we have been able to save money but retain an excellent level of educational service and support.

The bad news is we are still not clear on changes to expenditures. While the board will adopt a new 5-year forecast in May, per state law, there are still many items up in the air. We will keep you informed as we are given more information.